The final piece of the puzzle is in place as the Sheridan County Commissioners approved an amended Law Enforcement Center agreement at their meeting yesterday.

The new document spells out terms for sharing costs of the different parts of the center. The detention center budget is nearly $2.6 million annually, and under the new agreement, the City of Sheridan would pay $65,000 each year to house inmates in the jail. With an average of 17% of inmates coming from the city, that figure may seem a little low, but Commissioner Terry Cram says there’s more to it than that.

By allowing the credit for the dispatch services, it also cuts back on the number of payments both the City and County will pay to each other, so the same money is not just being handed back and forth.

The Law Enforcement Center Joint Powers Board came up with the amendments and the City Council recently passed the final draft.

The new agreement should make things much easier for all entities concerned. It will be easier for the Sheriff’s Office to bill the city by cutting back on paperwork involved in calculating the bills, since now the City will just pay the annual flat rate.